Trading Arron Afflalo could have significant benefits for the Magic

Josh Robbins | Orlando Magic BasketBlogOrlando Sentinel

The clock could be ticking on Arron Afflalo’s tenure with the Orlando Magic.

Magic executives like what Afflalo brings to the team, and a league source told the Orlando Sentinel that Afflalo and his agent have not asked for a trade, but it may make sense for the Magic to trade Afflalo sooner rather than later.

Why?

Primarily for the same reason the team traded J.J. Redick in Feb. 2013. As you’ll remember, Redick was on course to become a free agent during the summer of 2013, and if the Magic had retained Redick beyond the trade deadline, there was a strong chance Redick would sign elsewhere, leaving the Magic with no asset in Redick’s place. In essence, the Magic, who were not interested in overpaying to keep Redick in free agency, did not want to lose Redick for nothing, and the team wound up trading him, Gustavo Ayón and Ish Smith to the Milwaukee Bucks for Tobias Harris, Doron Lamb and Beno Udrih.

Afflalo has a player option for the 2015-16 season, and he plans to do the smart thing and become a free agent during the summer of 2015. If the Magic keep him on their roster until next summer, they would run the risk of losing him for nothing in free agency.

The Bulls own the 16th, 19th and 49th picks in Thursday’s NBA Draft, but it’s unclear what pick or picks and players the Bulls would be willing to give away. (And, no, folks, I can’t see the Bulls giving up Taj Gibson or Jimmy Butler in any potential deal with the Magic.)

The Magic own the fourth and 12th picks in the draft, and because of the cap space they’ll have, they can also give a trade partner cap relief by acquiring a player or two with bloated salaries.

To be sure, Orlando would be best served to explore every option and see if Afflalo and their picks could net a lottery pick. That’s obvious — just as it’s obvious that the Magic would love to acquire the top overall pick from the Cleveland Cavaliers or the second overall pick from the Milwaukee Bucks to select Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker. (By the way, I don’t see any scenario in which the Bucks would trade away the second overall pick. The Cavs might be a different story; their owner, Dan Gilbert, is pushing for the team to reach the playoffs in 2014-15.)

But a potential deal with Chicago is intriguing.

Here are some possible benefits for Orlando, assuming the deal would net the Magic the 16th or 19th pick:

• Trading Afflalo would open the shooting guard spot for Victor Oladipo, who is a natural shooting guard. The Magic are high on Oladipo and regard him as a building block in their rebuilding effort.

• The 16th pick — or perhaps the 19th pick — could be used to draft a point guard. Although I think Elfrid Payton won’t be available at No. 16, there’s a chance that Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis, arguably the best true point guard in this draft, would be available at No. 16. Ennis, by the way, told reporters Friday in Phoenix that he will work out for the Magic on Monday for a second time.

• If the Magic were to acquire the 16th pick and keep their pick at No. 12, it would give them cover to select European forward Dario Saric at No. 12. The biggest problem with Saric isn’t his skill set, which is reminiscent of Hedo Turkoglu’s skill set; no, the biggest problem with Saric is that it’s unclear when he will want to make the jump to the NBA. It’s possible he will wait one or two years or maybe even longer, and for the Magic, that’s a huge red flag given how the franchise’s 11th overall pick in 2005, Fran Vazquez, never went to the NBA.

• Trading Afflalo now would ensure the team receives an asset or assets in return for a player who is all but certain to become a free agent a year from now.

Of course, there could be other potential suitors for Afflalo, including the Charlotte Hornets and the Oklahoma City Thunder.